Politics Not a Predictor of Gender Diversity in Executive Suite

VANCOUVER, Wash., May 16, 2017 -- Just because a company is based in a state with progressive politics doesn’t mean the company’s executive team will reflect the gender diversity that the state supports and promotes, according to new research from DiscoverOrg, the world’s leading sales and marketing intelligence solution. The research, conducted earlier this month, surveyed more than 50,000 U.S. employees in the company’s data set, with 10,234 individuals responding.

Proprietary research from DiscoverOrg showing percentage of female executives in 50 USA states.

Most notably, the research shows that the deep-red state of Montana has the highest percentage of women in the executive suite of any state, with 40.9%. Alaska, also a politically conservative state (and the one with the highest male population, at 52%), is also in the top three states, with 33.3% females in the executive suite. According to DiscoverOrg’s data, the national average is 24.8%.

At the same time, blue states California, Massachusetts and New Jersey showed percentages of female senior executives well below the national mean, with averages of 21.4%, 20.7% and 20.0%, respectively.

“Research clearly shows that diversity isn’t just a social goal, but good business. Companies with more diversity have a much better chance of posting financial returns above national industry medians,” noted DiscoverOrg CMO Katie Bullard. “While some companies do a far better job than others at gender parity, the national mean of 24.8% is still well below where it should be if companies want to strengthen their bottom line.”

The top five states for gender diversity in the executive suite are: Montana (40.9% female); District of Columbia (38.2%); Vermont (38.0%); Alaska (33.3%) and Delaware (33.3%). Conversely, the five states with the least gender parity are: Utah (17.0%); West Virginia (17.2%); Kentucky (18.0%); Oklahoma (19.0%); and Texas (19.7%).

Some additionally interesting results appear when looking at the states by region: Despite a relatively poor showing by Massachusetts and Connecticut, the best performing U.S. region was New England (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT), posting an average of 28.3%. Meanwhile, New Mexico’s above-average performance of 25% women in the executive suite wasn’t enough to offset the below-average performance of the other states in the Southwest; Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona were all part of the 10 worst-performing states, at 19.0%, 19.7% and 20.9%, respectively.

A complete list of U.S. regions, by rank:

1. New England (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT) – 28.3%
2. Rocky Mountains (MT, ID, WY, UT, CO) – 26.7%
3. Mid-Atlantic (NY, PA, MD, DE, NJ, DC) – 26.6%
4. Far West (WA, OR, CA, NV, HI, AK) – 25.5%
5. Southeast (AR, LA, MS, AL, GA, FL, NC, SC, TN, KY, WV, VA) – 23.6%
6. Great Lakes (WI, IL, MI, IN, OH) – 23.5%
7. Plains (ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO) – 23.4%
8. Southwest (AZ, NM, OK, TX) – 21.1%

Find out here how your own state fares on executive suite gender diversity, and access DiscoverOrg’s complete report, including downloadable graphics of the percentages for all 50 states, the top 5 states, and the bottom 5 states. 

About DiscoverOrg
DiscoverOrg is the leading global sales and marketing intelligence tool used by over 2,300 of the world’s fastest growing companies to accelerate growth. The company itself has been named an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing company six times. DiscoverOrg’s award-winning solutions provide a constant stream of accurate and actionable company, contact, and buying intelligence that can be used to find, connect with, and sell to target buyers more effectively – all integrated into the leading CRM and Marketing Automation Tools in the market. DiscoverOrg’s team of over 250 researchers refreshes every data point at minimum every 60 days – ensuring customers reach the right buyers with the right message at the right time.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/585d474f-8351-41c1-9329-a67c15b021e7

Media Contacts
Katie Bullard
DiscoverOrg
[email protected]
800-914-1220